“Further,” said the king, “surmise is aroused in us when we discover a woman far from a house; for you will have both observed and noticed that women are home-dwellers, and that a house without a woman or a woman without a house are imperfect objects, and although they be but half observed, they are noticed on the double.” (Irish Fairy Tales, James Stephens; illus. Arthur Rackham. Thank you, Project Gutenberg.

Simplia cradled her teacup in both hands and leaned in so she could hear better. Flossie Squashblossom was passing through town, and she never turned down an opportunity to indulge in the Fairy Tale Lobby’s famous lapsang souchong. Nor could she turn down an opportunity to voice an opinion. Flossie was never short of strong opinions to voice.

Today, some of the Simpletons’ Magical Friends were discussing how infrequently one encountered a theme of friendship between women in fairy tales. Mary Hamilton had cited one of her favorite examples — Kate Crackernuts — solid friendship between two step-sisters.

Flossie, gave half a nod and a cocked eyebrow to that suggestion. “Granted,” she said, “they were not blood relations; but they did share a set of parents and they did live in the same household.”

“From which they both ran away together,” Sagacia said.

“True,” Flossie conceded. “But I contend that their friendship was a product of their parents’ relationship. What started this vein of questions in the first place?”

Tarkabarka told her that the story “Wild Goose Lake” had inspired Amy in Amityville to write to Vasilisa the wise. She pulled out her phone and emailed everybody a link so that they could read the story at their leisure.

Flossie was not a patient woman; she was never without her iPad; and she read really fast.

“Different events than Kate Crackernuts, but still … their friendship took root and grew because they became members of the same household. Will someone bring me a cosy for this teapot? It’s growing cold.”

“And again,” said Flossie with the emphasis of a pointing index finger, “our protagonists are either related by blood or by marriage, and they are part of the same household.” She stopped for a sip of tepid tea. “My point being: Just as there are today vastly fewer women who become step-mothers because of Death by Childbirth than there were back when these tales were embroidered on the fabric of society, there were vastly fewer women back then with the leisure and autonomy to go out and make friends. They were too busy raising children, raising chickens, cooking, sewing, managing a house, subsumed in the drudgery of domesticity. Only a tiny handful of women enjoyed leisure and independence — ‘Me Time,’ if you will. When you do encounter the rare fairy tale with strong women forging strong friendships — of course it stands out. It’s an anomaly.” Flossie drained the teapot, then drained her cup; she stifled a ladylike belch and said, “At least, that’s my take on the matter.”

All the other Magical Friends glanced sideways at one another, blinked several times, and waited for someone else to break the silence that grew and grew and grew.

Simplia couldn’t resist.

“Maybe the friendship between Gold-Tree and her wife-in-law was only possible because they lived in the same house, but you gotta admit this is one story that blows all sorts of other stereotypes away. The jealous queen was the actual womb mother, not a step-mother. And the two co-wives were devoted to each other in spite of the fact that the king — insensitive twit! — makes no secret of his preference for Gold-Tree over Second Wife. What I wouldn’t give for a key to Second Wife’s diary…”

Sagacia had nodded off. As she yawned herself awake, an idea occurred to her. “Is there a number in one of the motif indexes for what we’re talking about? Let’s go to the library and check it out, Simplia. Tomorrow.”

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About megan hicks

The best parts of my life happen when I pull magic from thin air. That happens with the spoken word. The written word. Reclaiming trash in the material world. It's about recognition. Re-cognition. Learning fresh the truth I've always known. Seeing new potential as a result of a change in context. It's alchemy.

Sorche Nic Leodhas’s The Stolen Bairn has a friendship between a young woman and an old Roma grandmother that allows her to find and rescue her child from the Sidh. Thistle and Thyme

Also in Thistle and Thyme: The Lass Who Went Out at the Cry of Dawn
A young woman rescues her sister from the Fairy Folk.

Habetrot: A mysterious spinner and her two sisters help a young lass accomplish an impossible spinning task in return for an invitation to her wedding.http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/meft/meft39.htm
There is another version, The Three Aunts in Angela Carter’s Second Virago Book of Fairy Tales,

And lastly, there is a story in Italo Calvino’s Italian Folk Tales Pantheon in which a trio of women help a young woman gain revenge on the man she disenchants by enduring a terrible. Unfortunately I can’t remember which one but the man is in the form of a bird and she sits for a year? exposed to the elements to save him.

Fantastic examples of harmonious female partnerships. And am I correct in noticing that while the first two examples — The Wood Lady and The Stolen Bairn — concern women who don’t share domestic duties, the rest of your examples are. Which doesn’t mean I’m trying to diss cooperation and friendship among family members (which so often is a difficult prospect). I do, however, continue to content that were it not for the fact that these women’s encounters with each other happen on the home front, not On the Road ‘Midst High Adventure.

Many thanks for your response, and to the Simpletons for allowing me comment space on their blog.

I did not read the post thoroughly, however I believe the last example does fit, as the three women helpers are not helping with a domestic challenge,. Unless you count the relationship with the man as a domestic issue.
Wish I could remember which tale it was.

IT HAPPENS EVERY MONTH!

Someone in distress over a Fairy Tale theme or problem writes for help from Vasilisa the Wise via her syndicated newspaper column. But Vasilisa--well, she's stuck in a little hut on chicken feet until she finishes picking out the dirt from poppy seeds, or at the widow’s house in town, spinning flax into linen to make a shirt for the czar, or she’s at a banquet making swans come out of her sleeve. She just can't attend to questions right now, so she enlists the aid of her two simpleton friends who feed the cat and collect her mail. They can’t really help, either. Not by themselves.

Fortunately, they know others who can! Magical friends like you, who care about fairy tales and storytelling, who have accumulated experience, observations, and ponderings to share, and who might take a moment to post a response to help a correspondent solve a conundrum.

On the magical third day of each month, Vasilisa's mail magically appears, the Simpletons open it (with permission), read the question and ask for help answering it. Then they gather responses, yours and others', and distribute them every week or so to inspire further thought. As if by magic, when the third of the next month rolls in, so does another question! Here’s what the Simpletons hope you’ll do: Read the question then (a) post your response as a comment on the blog itself, (b) reply to it on the Storytell Listserv, or (c) write in your answer on The Fairy Tale Lobby Facebook page.

The Fairy Tale Lobby is a "Discussion Group" of the National Storytelling Network, and this blog is both the way we discuss fairy tale topics and a means of preserving your wisdom. Regardless of whether or not you are a member of NSN, if you value fairy tales, if you defend them in the real world, if you advocate their greater use, if you occasionally even lobby on their behalf, you will feel right at home here.

Your hosts at the Fairy Tale Lobby, besides Simplia and Sagacia who carry out all the communications, fluff the pillows on the Chesterfield, brew the tea, butter the gate, and bake the crumpets, are Megan Hicks and Mary Grace Ketner. They are the ones who enjoy and appreciate your ideas insights most of all.

This month’s question:

Dear Vasilisa the Wise --

Are you really as good as all that? Are you really wise? Or just cagey? When you're wearing your Czarina hat, are you genuinely concerned about the well-being of your subjects? Or do you just want to pacifying them enough that they don't foment unrest? In your stories, as an innocent, you're too good to be true. I'm pretty unschooled in fairy tales, so I wonder if there are many stories about you as an woman married to the Czar.

Usually the people at the top of the heap are there either as innocuous place holders or as the source of the conflict that winds the story up. Bad rulers are deposed in fairy tales. Do their usurpers then become the next wave of bad rulers?

Right now, I could use a story about a good monarch. A wise queen. A generous rich man. An honest advisor to the king. Not just a placeholder in the story. Not just a cameo role. I'm looking for a prime mover. Help me out here, would you? I'm growing

Cynical in Cynghordy

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